Hillsong United’s Taya Smith has shared “10 Things I’ve Learned About Worship Leading.” As a key leader in the Hillsong Creative Team, Smith has a range of responsibilities within the team from development and oversight of the city vocal team, creative elements for young adult events, vocals in key Hillsong events as well as touring with Young & Free and UNITED.

Smith is a passionate worship leader who has captured the hearts of believers across the globe with her vocals on fan favourite ‘Oceans’ and ‘A Million Suns’ which are featured on UNITED’s most album, ‘Zion’.

“I am most passionate about worship – true, honest worship. There is nothing like it. It’s never about you or how well you can sing – it’s always about Jesus and who He is. My hope is to lead people to worship more passionately and go deeper in their relationship with Jesus than they have before. The fact that I get to point people to Him through songs and platforms I’ve been given will always be the biggest honour and privilege. I’ve always been, and hopefully always will be, sold out to worship.”

1. The difference between preparing and not preparing is MASSIVE.

Apart from knowing the songs and learning the lyrics, setting aside time to prepare my heart before God is the most important thing – it allows the Holy Spirit to speak, puts a verse on my heart, and gives me ideas.

2. Receive constructive feedback from those around you who have been doing this for longer than you. I want to lead people the best way I can each time, plus I don’t know everything so I need to remain humble and teachable.

3. Have a plan. If you don’t play an instrument, grab the Music Director, or a musician and together, figure out the keys of the songs you’ve chosen, any potential creative moments you might have, specific transitions, etc. That way you have a plan in place that has been practiced, but you also have flexibility to change if you feel to do so.

4. Have an opinion. Especially if you’re a co-worship leader. When the senior worship leader asks you what you think of a song, idea, or moment – have something to contribute! You could have a great idea that no one has thought of yet.

5. Run your song list by someone else. I always get a second eye to look over my list, just to make sure it’s the strongest and most relevant it can be. This can mean you may need to tailor a song list to a specific service and then tweak it slightly for the next one.

To read the following 5 points visit the Hillsong website by clicking HERE!!!